Mein Hoo Na…Mein Hain Na..
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Till I joined REC Warangal , I had to mind my ka and ki whenever I tried speaking in Hindi. So in school the best option was to avoid talking in Hindi.
To top in all it was Course A of CBSE Hindi that I had to suffer. (Some schools had Course B which was as easy as English alphabets!) The misery did not end there. My school, for some godforsaken reason had Social Studies in Hindi. Yes, that makes life all fun filledą„¤ When you have all your Geography, History and Civics in Hindi World war was always Vishwa Yuddh for me. Latitude and longitude were akshaansh and rekhaansh deshantar[edit:thanks]. I had to learn about Kark rekha and Makar rekha(that is Tropic of Cancer and capricon) Map was Manchitr. I mere thought that I used to write “tippani” on French Kraanti or Yunan(Greece of the ignorant souls) send shivers down my spine. It all started with learning words like kalam and kamal in class 1 besides learning to abuse everyone in class jaabe saale ullu ke patte having had no clue of the meaning. We kids used to sit and break the phrase into words and left alone every word seemed okay and we decided the cumulative effect would be zilch as well. Five olds actually sat and figured out these meanings those days! Team effort!
That was when I would not have learnt a good abuse in Malayalam
Even though the tribulations with Hindi ended a lot with Social Studies migrating to English in class nine,Hindi(the language) haunted me for two more years. We had doha(which was neither dosa nor poha 
), thanks to someone by name Kabirdas.Still remember that when they took off the chaadar off when Kabir’s dead body, the body had turned into flowers…May be they thought us this to infuse Hindu Muslim unity. (Kabir’s body was claimed by both these religions. Go read your textbooks, if you didn’t know this).
Meerabai , Tulsidas were other nice people who made my days,weeks and months all together. Devaki Nandan Khatri,Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’,Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’,Premchand,Harivash Rai Bachan and ____ Shukla are some of the names I can recollect now.
Their literary masterpieces invaded my life and had to figure out the meanings (literary,figurative), the metaphors and other figures or speeches.The killer was kavi parichay which was a brief biography of the poet.For annual exams,there would easily be fifteen of them to cover and was indeed a task that made me a Hindiphile. None of these guys would have the same year of birth,leave anything else. Every poet was so different. The only solace was Harivansh Rai Bachan, who was very farsighted of being nice to students like us and titled his works as Madhushaala, Madhubala and Madhukalash. Plus, one paragraph on Amitabh could possibly be squeezed in his kavi parichay.
Samkshipt Ramayan and Manak Hindi Vyakaran (Yes, that was one Grammar Book which taught me Samaas, the various kinds of it, sandhi, sandhi vicched, the types of Hindi languages like Audhi, Khadi Boli etc!!!)helped me learn the language, the way it had to be . The numerals and numbers also mortified me. The only numeral I could figure out was 0 which thankfully was the same in English as well. Rest of them looked more like nooses ready to hang my future.Lets not start on the numbers. Thirappan, Chappan, Ikyanabbe, phew, it was tough.
Solah and Satrah still make me count ek,do,teen to figure out which one is 16 and which one is 17. Words like gubbare (Balloon) or Kamal have not been used ever after school! May be a dose of Aaj Tak would remind me of those long forgotten words. I would have changed my gender in so many exams thanks to the eternal(?)confusion between ee ki matra or aa ki matra. While writing this piece, Kal kare sau aaj kare, aaj kare sau ab, Pal mein parlay hoyega,tho bahuri karega kab came to my mind. That being the only doha I know. May be the way it was recited I can’t forget,Khoob Ladi Mardani woh tho Jhaansi waali Rani thi, Bundele harbolo ke muh se humne suni kahaani thi.
Eventhough my Hindi has become decent enough compared to an average Southie,I still refrain from using Dhai and Dedh because I am still confused.Better using 1:30 or 2:30,respectively(?). And why did I learn to write letters in Hindi that usually started with Poojy Pithaaji? Only if I knew.
I dedicate this post to all the Hindi teachers I had in school who worked hard,really hard to save me from being a disgrace to the language.
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31 comments
loved writing that comment @ Nikhil’s “Mein Hoo Na?Mein Hain Na..” @ http://tinyurl.com/6mdz26
Dedicated to all the Hindi teachers I had in school who worked hard,really hard to save me from being a disgrace to the language.
The questions is: were they successful in their effort?
Ah, KV? I did that for a year, and my parents, horrified that their older progeny could not read or write Malayalam, put me in another school. It was some improvement, I can read and write malayalam, but that’s it. I read and write Hindi better than Malayalam!
Lol’..u’re by far the only mallu i’ve known to have picked all so much in Hindi..hilarious..will be fun ..imagine if u were to propose ur girl in shudh hindi…WOW [:p]
lol… so we belong to the same category…
did u forget ‘muhavaron ka arth likh khe vakya banao’??? that was a torture man!
kavi parichay used to be hilarious when one kavi used to have all the characteristics of the 15 we had to study.
lovely post… reminded me of all my hindi teachers who were a peculiar lot with their shudh hindi. we had one teacher who used to scold us with these lines,” Ulloo ke pathe, kutte ki poonch”
ROTFL!!!
hilarious! I had a few friends who were in KV and the rest of the gang were all studying in BVB (Bhavans).. poor chaps their holidays were diff from ours.. notes were diff from ours.. Made my day.. eh evening!
Kollaaaaam…can totally empathise with every damn thing written there… my kavi/lekhak parichays were uniform, with only the names changed. Even gender was not an issue with me:P
Didnt they ever make make you study the “navrasa” collection?? ;D
“The only solace was Harivansh Rai Bachan, who was very farsighted of being nice to students like us and titled his works as Madhushaala, Madhubala and Madhukalash. Plus, one paragraph on Amitabh could possibly be squeezed in his kavi parichay.”
LOL…. those were the days… i am not sure whether we had the same teacher for our batch, but we had some real fun in our hindi classes.. (http://sabarinath.rediffiland.com/blogs/2006/05/03/Those-Hindi.html)
To me this is your best blog post ever
Don’t know if its because I have a feeling you’ve left your comfort zone in the one.. or because I can identify with everything you’ve said.
My Hindi was molested at a very early age by a trio of hooorriibbblllee so-called teachers *shudder!!!!* Then came Ponnamma George (my err.. knightess in shining armor) who put me back on track
Yo Nik!
Wazaap man!
[quote]
I still refrain from using Dhai and Dedh because I am still confused.Better using 1:30 or 2:30,respectively(?).
[/quote]
I guess that question mark is well in handy mate
You have really inverted the two number!
Regards,
Grondmaster
That was really gud one… me 2 was at KV… reminded me of all dose classes in Hindi…I remember one rumour which spread , that they wr planning to teach Maths and Science also in Hindi… But thank god it never happened..!!!( phew wut an escape…)
rembr that ‘Parag’ and ‘Swati’ texts of 9th nd 10th…It was really gud.
@Sajith
They failed.You also flunked in Hindi u bugger.
@Ado P
Yes da, KV. I can read and write Malayalam inspite of knowing/learning Hindi
My Malayalam is decent thanks to Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi
@Dipsy
Can you suggest a romantic Hindi novel?
@jj
Illa illa, remember …Also Kissne kisse kyun kaha!!!
@Balu
KV is always zara hatke
@Zahra Mole
Enthaa ee sambhavam?
@Sabari
Kausalya ammal, susheela bai??
@MTN
You win the prize for “Best Ego Massage 2008″
I am shameless most of the times, rest of the times I lack shame
@grondmaster
Happens.I still suck.
@kavitha
Thanks for visiting. Yes, I remember, though I never wished to remember
Brilliant one Niks…My SIBM HR mate ,Reju simon ( mallu of course!) could hardly read/write/speak hindi ( except the expletives) in our Bschool Days….
After 3 years in Saint Gobain, he has now being ‘proselytized’ into pucca Hindi bhashi…he speaks brilliant hindi maan…
I wonder how is our pal Anish M doing in hindi these days
Had a riot reading it!
You missed out mentioning this though….
….we are taught shudh hindi in our schools. It’s when you finally go to the hindi-speaking parts of India and try to use your third-language prowess that the cat gets out of the bag.
I had my first bad experience when I foolishly used the word ‘kalam’ to ask for a pen! People looked at me as if I was speaking an earlier language. Then came the difficulty in pronouncing ‘Hain’. They way it is taught in my school was totally different with the way it is supposed to sound. I had a lot of fun and I spread some smiles among the ones I tried to speak in Hindi too
@Shubham
So mallus learn Hindi, rite
@GWBE
Ya, I missed that bit, very imp.
I am sure a Hindi teacher can’t converse properly if he meets SRK
Dahi and dedh – and you still got it wrong!
What about daayein (right) and baayein (left)?
I’m from Up and I still have difficulty reading Hindi, especially nowadays. Such a nice post, brought back the memories of a whole decade of Hindi studies. I have always wondered why was it so much more difficult than the other language I was taught – English. Also it is a sad comment on our education that despite it being my mother tongue and studying the language in school for so long, my English is way better than my Hindi.
(I have an M.Phil in English Literature, what to do?)
Ha! Dahi/Dhai! (curd/right).
And that was UP.
I am an idiot.
Good post. Its a complete nostalgia trip.
OH GOD!
So many, many typos! I have still not learnt proof-reading after all these years in the academia.
Dhai – one and half.
Lol! Very similar story indeed.
I really liked the “neither dosa nor poha” bit.
@Ima
All Hindi teachers end up losing the battle. Poor them.
@Chutney
Thanks for the visit. He he thanks.
Damn! Feel like having Dosa and Chutney!
Aliya,
Thanks a lot! Brought lots of memories back from school and college.
I thought I escaped hindi in school but only to be caught again for another two years of my B.Sc
I was always a special student in my Hindi class… an outstanding one (by choice I always stayed away outside the hindi class)
The most memorable Hindi Class days are the one just after any exams. My paper will always be read out to the class by the most broght student or the professor her self.
I was always a example to the class for what common mistakes students make in their papers. except that I was commonly mistaken always.
Me too was a very close friends of Kabir das and Amitab Bachans’s father. I always read the un-said of their dohas, poetry and novels. I was shocked to learn that people who existed before me never even noticed of these un-said facts in their lines. Who else will translate “Pinjida” to “Pinji Kidavu”
My college even today preserves all my Hindi papers… those red ink marks in every page of my examination papers that read “Vakvaas” is still so clearly visible through the dirty & dusty glass of the notice board.
Jai Hind! Jai Hindi! Jai Hindhi-stan
Oh Nikhil!! This was HILARIUOS..I could soooooooo relate!! Me too studied in K.V–yep–CBSE Course A, and social studies in Hindi..For me during my graduation too I had Hindi (which was a breeze–as after all it was Hindi of Mahatma Gandhi University,Kerala and I topped my college!) Don’t forget Bhoomadhya rekha and Jwalamukhi and ‘sicily mein etna’
Cannot tell you how glad I was that Hindi studying days were over. But I rejoiced too soon–They say your past comes back to haunt you.
It does–through your children! Now my son has the same Hindi..GAWD—Six types of Sarvanaam (yes–i know them all.A pity my son does not!) ,Kriya-visheshan, Muhavara, paryayvachi,samanarthak..The saga continues!!
Cheers
Preeti
@SM
Guess, I have seen your answer sheets as email forwards? Your name is something like Agni ??
Thanks. Pass aayo ennitt ?
@Ps
Gawd,lucky that I went to do Engineering. Else… na, would have topped Hindi like you did
Life is unfair, I feel.Why else are you made to learn the same old Hindi again? I am gonna settle abroad if this is future!
Came over from Preethi’s post.
I totally identify with you. After 10th, when most of the other saner schools allowed students to take up only 1 language paper, which meant that most of them obviously gave up Hindi, my school still had 2 compulsory language papers. And my hindi teacher was the type who expected us to say “Adhyapikaji, kya hum kaksha mein jal grahan kar sakte hain?’ type of Hindi
There was a time when I was doing 4 languages simulatenously – English, Hindi, French and Lower Bengali, and I’d end up making all my running notes in English for all the languages
Came from PS’s blog.
Further comments after I stop guffawing!
Hi..Read a review of your writing in Preeti’s blog..whilst i cannot fully empathise with your troubles surrounding hindi…I can relate to similar troubles learning french…I was never very good at learning languages at school..We had to learn french.I hated the teacher and the work..infact i hated school. but one day I decided to beat the teacher at her own game and REALLY put all my effort inot doing my french homework to the best if my ability…I handed the work in and duly awaited the next lesson where I’d find I’d got an A*…when I got the work back i noticed a comment at the bottom ..I didn’t understand it..so thinking it must be a French word for “Excellent work well done!”…I put my hand up and shouted to the teacher…”Miss..what does ‘Redo’…mean?”…hoping my classmates would be really impressed with my linguistic skill…I was so embaressed when the teacher replied..” It says Re do!”…”as in, Re do your home work, it was meaningless!”….Doh!
I was reading this post, and I was like, aree lagta hai ye KV ka bandha hai I can not believe u remember name of these rekhas. Brought back tons of memories, Ramayan Mahabarat, Doha, Kabir. U shud write a post about learning Sanskrit. Remember, Sanskrit had Singular, ” Twingular” (like that is a word – Dwivachan – or something like that), and the plural. Gachathi, Gachami
Man !!!!! PS was true !!! u r person with “terrific Sense of Humour” …. my memories flew back to school days … me too from KV-background ;-P …
Could relate it very wel !!!
@SNM @Meira
Dhanyawaad!
@niall
Thanks for the comment,yes, something similar.
@Binerry @Myoni
Thanks for visiting and for the comment.
I was ROFL !!!!!
Nikhil ji.. u got the akshaansh and rekhaansh part wrong I guess… Wasn’t it akshansh aur deshantar rekhaayen?
More than the Hindi part, I used to go crazy at the Social Science Part!!! 9th was a welcome change!
@Soo
.May be reading the SS textbooks both in Hindi and English has confused me.
Thanks for the comment.
You left me confused.Akshansh was one for sure.So much for learning SS in Hindi
You are right. [PDF Alert] http://is.gd/3p5Vq
Corrected,thanks Soo for spotting the mistake.
Teachers aarengilum kandal adi kittum enikk
-Nikhil
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